News Flash!! . . . VINCENT VAN GOGH WAS JACK THE RIPPER!!

[Zodiac]

You know my methods Watson!!!

If you ask me, Sherlock Holmes is a much better bet for the killer - I mean, he has an intense interest in crime, he has a distinctly curious attitude to women ( I blame Irene Adler for this), is clearly intelligent enough to fox the cops, AND he lives with a medical doctor.... Hmm.... I wonder if it'd sell?

Hi Sally,

Great Scott, I think that you may just be onto something there!!! I'm sure that between us we can come up with more than enough supporting "evidence" to convince almost anyone browsing through a rack of paperbacks at an airport book stall!!!

Best wishes,
Zodiac.

[Phil Carter]

Hello all,

Sadly, we will probably get more of this stuff if my thoughts on human nature are correct., based on the following:-

1) The 125th anniversary will bring all sorts of money-making ideas out of the closet. Some of them will be complete and utter rubbish, as was the case in 1988, the 100th anniversary. It won't be just paintings, I can reasonably assure you. Those of us with a long memory recall 1988 and a few years surrounding for many reasons, some of them being very wrong. There are some scrupulous people around, sadly.

2) There will be the same "hidden concept" claims that are on the same basis coming about if I believe Ms Cornwell is in the process of a follow up to her Walter Sickert claims. No doubt MANY of his paintings will have been poured over in an affort to find "clues" to support the theory.

3) The really SAD thing is that when one types up the name of most any of Walter Sickert's paintings online, a fair few of them have already been.. err.. shall we say..."changed" in some electronic or photographic way..and there are many "versions" of certain individual paintings already online presented as being the original.

4) Any attempt to read things into paintings that are hidden has caused one small problem. ONLY the artist himself knows whether this has been done on purpose, and most of them, if not all, are dead. So unless written evidence is produced connected to the words of the artist themselves, to back up such a proposition, then all such theorising is merely total speculation of interpretation...which means absolutely nothing in the long and the short of things. One bright note will be the availability of the Sickert written material in the next few years, if I am correct.

5) Artists have always been regarded, because of their very nature, as "differently" because of their individual perceptions to how things are seen through their eyes. For those unable to see things in this same manner, interpretations will always be made, some of which will be very "out there".

6) It is a little known fact that some musical geniuses of yesteryear, heard music in "colour" form. A particular note was heard and was seen as a colour, and whole symphonies were written with this in mind guiding the theme. There is a medical condition for this, which is called Synesthesia...it is a neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report such experiences are known as synesthetes. The Composers Liszt and Rimsky-Korsakov regularly disagreed on the colors of music key!!

kindly

Phil

[Limehouse]

Hello all,

Sadly, we will probably get more of this stuff if my thoughts on human nature are correct., based on the following:-

1) The 125th anniversary will bring all sorts of money-making ideas out of the closet. Some of them will be complete and utter rubbish, as was the case in 1988, the 100th anniversary. It won't be just paintings, I can reasonably assure you. Those of us with a long memory recall 1988 and a few years surrounding for many reasons, some of them being very wrong. There are some scrupulous people around, sadly.

2) There will be the same "hidden concept" claims that are on the same basis coming about if I believe Ms Cornwell is in the process of a follow up to her Walter Sickert claims. No doubt MANY of his paintings will have been poured over in an affort to find "clues" to support the theory.

3) The really SAD thing is that when one types up the name of most any of Walter Sickert's paintings online, a fair few of them have already been.. err.. shall we say..."changed" in some electronic or photographic way..and there are many "versions" of certain individual paintings already online presented as being the original.

4) Any attempt to read things into paintings that are hidden has caused one small problem. ONLY the artist himself knows whether this has been done on purpose, and most of them, if not all, are dead. So unless written evidence is produced connected to the words of the artist themselves, to back up such a proposition, then all such theorising is merely total speculation of interpretation...which means absolutely nothing in the long and the short of things. One bright note will be the availability of the Sickert written material in the next few years, if I am correct.

5) Artists have always been regarded, because of their very nature, as "differently" because of their individual perceptions to how things are seen through their eyes. For those unable to see things in this same manner, interpretations will always be made, some of which will be very "out there".

6) It is a little known fact that some musical geniuses of yesteryear, heard music in "colour" form. A particular note was heard and was seen as a colour, and whole symphonies were written with this in mind guiding the theme. There is a medical condition for this, which is called Synesthesia...it is a neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report such experiences are known as synesthetes. The Composers Liszt and Rimsky-Korsakov regularly disagreed on the colors of music key!!

kindly

Phil

Hello Phil,

A wonderfully reasoned and beautifully articulated post - as usual.

I agree that, because of the nature of their creations, artists are a target for all sorts of nonsense. Writers too, I suppose.

I doubt very much if many killers would bother to hide evidence of their killings in paintings or literature as I think the killings are themselves the acts they are attempting to express. As you say, as the 125th anniversary approaches, all sorts of crank theories will be marketed. After all, these killings have become an industry and I suppose, in our way, even constributors to this forum are part of that.

I have read about Synesthesia and find it very interesting. As well as musicians hearing sound in colour, I believe that some artists have also 'heard' their artistic creations. For example, I believe Jackson Pollock was attempting to create a Jazz composition in art when he creating some of his drizzle paintings.

Hope you are making a good recovery.

Julie

[Sally]

Hi Sally,

Great Scott, I think that you may just be onto something there!!! I'm sure that between us we can come up with more than enough supporting "evidence" to convince almost anyone browsing through a rack of paperbacks at an airport book stall!!!

Best wishes,
Zodiac.

Zodiac - Absolutely - I think we should colloborate at once. What I can't decide is whether Mrs Hudson was in on it or not - I have visions of her posing as mystery female witnesses: Mrs Kennedy, Sarah Ronay, etc, just to put the cops on a false trail. I mean, we know that Holmes was a master of disguise himself, right? She could've learned the art from him.

Hmm... Yes! Of Course! Holmes was a Master of Disguise! It explains why all those witness statements are so variable. Good Lord - I think we've cracked it!

I'll share the royalties with you.


On a more serious note - I agree that we will doubtless see more of these 'Show and Tell' affairs as yet another opportunity to cash in on the case presents itself. It's formulaic, and assuming such books get to publication to start with, are almost bound to be a success of sorts. Fundamentally, it's common to want to believe that an extraordinary event/series of events must have an extraordinary cause - so I guess the 'Jack = Famous Person' will always have a mass appeal - although in reality it's much less likely that he was a famous person.

This Van Gogh thing is exactly what the public wants, sadly. I mean, Van Gogh went in for portraiture - a clear sign that he wanted to sever heads; painted The Fisherman's Wife on the Beach a whole 6 years earlier - suggesting that he planned to do in Kelly even at that early date (actually, didn't she spend some time in France? Even better); and.... wait for it... painted a SKULL in 1888!!!! (demonstrating that he was a killer, obviously)

I havent' read the book, I'm just guessing - shows how easy it is to make a (albeit flippant) case againt him - or anyone (especially Holmes..)

[Phil Carter]

Hello Phil,

A wonderfully reasoned and beautifully articulated post - as usual.

I agree that, because of the nature of their creations, artists are a target for all sorts of nonsense. Writers too, I suppose.

I doubt very much if many killers would bother to hide evidence of their killings in paintings or literature as I think the killings are themselves the acts they are attempting to express. As you say, as the 125th anniversary approaches, all sorts of crank theories will be marketed. After all, these killings have become an industry and I suppose, in our way, even constributors to this forum are part of that.

I have read about Synesthesia and find it very interesting. As well as musicians hearing sound in colour, I believe that some artists have also 'heard' their artistic creations. For example, I believe Jackson Pollock was attempting to create a Jazz composition in art when he creating some of his drizzle paintings.

Hope you are making a good recovery.

Julie

Hello Julie,

Many thanks for your kind wishes as to my health. Indeed, I am slowly getting there bit by bit... and thank you for your kind comments about my posting.

I haven't heard specifically about Pollock's attempt, but have indeed heard of artists having "heard" their visual compositions. To most nearly all of us, this must be a very strange world in which to live. The only comparison I can draw is the manner of action by some children within the Aspergers and Autisic spectrum, which is very wide ranging. A few of these unfortunate individuals have managed to explain their siounds and colour sensitivity in much the same way through expression of a medical condition for this, which is apparently linked in some way to Synesthesia...which again, I believe, links this neurologically based condition stimulating sensory or cognitive pathway to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. It is amazingly complicated, and extremely rare, apparently. Scientific and Medical fields are only just scratching the surface of this purported link, as I understand it.

kindly

Phil

PS I will get into contact with Wolfgang Plagge, whom I know of through an aquaintance, and ask whether his musical genius is touched by Synthesthesia.

[caz]

Hi Phil,

I have a form of synaesthesia, but sadly it has not given me any artistic or musical talent. I see numbers and letters in colour - and often whole words too, like days of the week or months of the year. As a child I assumed everyone did this and was quite surprised when I found it was very unusual. It's a great way to remember a PIN as I see the colours that make up any group of four numbers very distinctly! But apart from that it hasn't done me much good. I saw a documentary on it a few years back and some people experience strong smells when they hear certain words, which could be a double-edged sword.

I wouldn't worry about this latest claim to have solved/explained the Whitechapel Murders. Most theorists I have encountered (whether they have an individual murderer in mind, several killers acting independently or some conspiracy by the authorities) come through it and out the other side realising they have made complete pillocks of themselves. Either that, or they carry on arguing impotently, as long as one or two of us can still be arsed to listen and respond. And none of them in my experience - not even Cornwell - makes more money than they will have invested in their failed attempts to provide actual hard evidence against anyone.

Love,

Caz
X

[Wade Aznable]

Forgotten torsos

Good afternoon everyone,
as some posters before me I have to acknowledge Mr Larner's grace and patience in replying to (us) Ripperologists, who can be, let's admit it, sometimes as aggressive as the miscreant we all hunt...
Too bad it's necessary also to acknowledge that Casebook isn't exactly the place where to post such acrobatic theories and hope not to get somewhat whacked - even because, if I'm not mistaken, Dale identifies poor ol' Vince not just as Jack the Ripper, but also as the Thames Torso Murderer (http://vincentaliasjack.com/wordpress/?page_id=176), at least partially.
Let's hope MJ Trow doesn't notice... I did, and went

My tuppence.

Wade

[DVV]

Well, thanks to the case and ripperology, Mr Larner has written an essay out of thin air.
Pas de quoi la ramener trop.

[Carol]

Yesterday evening I was looking through the photographs in Stewart Evans' and Paul Gainey's book about Tumblety and had a bit of a shock when I turned a page and saw the photo of the dead body of MJK taken from the other side of the bed that 'turned up' not too many years ago. The bolster (or whatever it is) at the top left of the photo looks just like the part of the Van Gogh painting in question that the author says is meant to be a policeman.

Does anyone know if this is mentioned in the book?

Carol

[Bridewell]

You Astound Me, Holmes

Hi Sally,

Great Scott, I think that you may just be onto something there!!! I'm sure that between us we can come up with more than enough supporting "evidence" to convince almost anyone browsing through a rack of paperbacks at an airport book stall!!!

Best wishes,
Zodiac.

"A Study In Scarlet", "The Red-Headed League", aligned with "Fair Ginger" & "Carroty Nell". What more proof do you need?


Yours aye, Bridewell.

[Vincent alias Jack]

Just the Right Age

March 30, 1853
Vincent van Gogh’s birthday.

March 30, 1888
Vincent van Gogh turned 35.

Nov 8, 1888
Just before midnight, Mary Cox saw a man with Mary Kelly as they entered Kelly’s room--Kelly was murdered a few hours later. Cox stated the man was between 35 and 36 years old.

Nov 15, 1888
Written in a Jack the Ripper letter, “I’m 35 & Still Alive!”

VINCENT VAN GOGH WAS JACK THE RIPPER

Dale Larner
www.vincentaliasjack.com
www.facebook.com/VincentaliasJack

[John Wheat]

So why Van Gough and not any other 35 year old man? Aren't you a little late for an April fool?

[The Good Michael]

If one looks at Van Gogh's painting "The Potato Eaters" from 1885, one can see 5 women who resemble, startlingly, the 5 canonical victims. The only face that cannot be seen in the painting is that of a young woman whose back is too us. Surely that is Mary Kelly, and the lack of face in the painting simply had to be replicated by Van Gogh in his painting. This stripping of her features was his final act before breaking down. The women in the painting were just women he detested from his neighborhood, but he made sure to slaughter them in his own way through the use of proxies.

If this isn't in the book, the book is crap.

Mike

[Bridewell]

The Potato Eaters

I presume this is the picture:



Regards, Bridewell.

[John Wheat]

Isn't one of the so called women a man? So the 5 Canons except Liz Stride and Van Gough himself. I think maybe Damien Hurst was the Ripper all that cutting animals in half was bound to lead to murder.